UNB

Work-Study Program

Program Objective

Work-Study is a subsidized work program designed to assist financially needy students with the high costs associated with post-secondary study. The program provides students with an opportunity to gain valuable career-related skills/experience in an on-campus, part-time employment situation. Work-Study is completed in collaboration with Career Development and Employment Centreand Financial Aid.

Program Description & Job Requirements

The Work-Study Program runs two times throughout the year with three different program lengths. Proposals are accepted from UNB faculty, staff, departments, and student organizations (in Fredericton or at a satellite campus; Saint John has their own program) from July until mid-August for both the 8-week Fall Term as well as for the 20-week Fall/Winter Term; proposals are accepted from November until mid-December for the 8-week Winter Term. Students work an average of 10 hours per week (20 hrs in 2 week period) and there is an option for students to work up to 20 hours over March Break. Proposals should be submitted online to Career Development and Employment Centre by the specified dates in the application form below.

Each project submitted must provide a student employee with:

Adequate (daily) supervision, direction, and feedback from a supervisor.

We suggest that projects offer a developmental position; one that allows a candidate to build new skills, acquire new knowledge, or enhance existing knowledge and skills (eg. employment related skills, lab techniques, research experience, or professional/office experience, etc.), rather than a position requiring student candidates to come to a department already possessing advanced skills.

A schedule that follows the dates listed in the Important Dates section; these timelines match the timelines of the academic year (It is recommended that students not work during exams)

Positions should provide approximately 10 hours of work per week; hours of work can vary between five and 15 hours per week (in order to give a student occasional flexibility); however, the total number of hours should not exceed an average of 20 hours in a two week period; NOTE: employment legislation (EI) does NOT allow hours to be ‘grouped together’ in lump sums.

Positions must not violate any union or collective bargaining regulations.

We do not approve proposals that will likely not be completed during the time frame granted.

We do not permit requests for a particular GPA or for the candidate to have ‘attained a grade of X’ in a particular course. You may, however, ask for a student who has ‘successfully completed’ a particular course, if it is directly related to your job description. Should you wish to review the academic background of an interviewed applicant in order to satisfy one of the constraints of your job description, you will need the student’s signed permission. The goal of UNB Work-Study positions is to assist students in demonstrated financial need, rather than reward students who achieve academic excellence.

All Work-Study projects are posted as "open competitions". This means any eligible, qualified candidate can apply to a posted position and they will have an equal chance of being considered. You may not pre-select a candidate before the interview nor give any candidate the impression that he or she can have the position before the application and interview process. In addition, you may not interview any candidates until you receive the formal package of resumes. NOTE: The program is not designed to permit project holders to hire the same student more than twice in a row.

Eligible Student Candidates

Eligible candidates are full-time students (registered in three or more classes) attending UNB, who have met the minimum GPA requirement of 2.0 and are not on academic probation. (Students who will be off-campus, for example, participating in an internship, a co-op work term, writing their thesis from home or working in a practicum are not eligible.)

Eligible candidates are Canadian Citizens, Landed Immigrants or International students (exchange students are not eligible).

Students must complete a Financial Assessment interview with Financial Aid. This looks at their financial resources (summer employment, scholarships, assistance from supporters, etc.) and their financial commitments (tuition, books, accommodation, food, transportation, etc). As long as their financial commitments exceed their current resources a student should be deemed eligible. These are the terms under which the funding is granted (i.e. it must be given to students in financial need). Students must also complete a Strategic Resume and Cover Letter Development Workshop with Career Development and Employment Centre. Dates and times of workshops are on the Career Development and Employment Centre website.

Please Note: According to the Employment of Graduate Students Guidelines, graduate students in either a thesis-based or course-based program studying full-time may engage in additional employment for up to 520 hours annually, which translates to an average of 10-hours per week across the year. There is no restriction on work hours for part-time students. Generally, graduate students in a course-based program taking three or more courses are considered full-time.

After being deemed eligible, student candidates may review the Work-Study positions and apply online through D2L, free course section, UNB Work Study Program; students can apply for as many as eight positions. NOTE: Resume and cover letters much be submitted for each position.

Cost to Faculty, Staff, or Department

Students employed through the Work-Study program will be paid $12.50/hour plus vacation/holiday pay = $13.50/hour (increasing the salary is not allowed). Project holders are responsible to contribute $4.03/hour to the salary of the student. The actual costs depend on the length of the project and the number of hours your student works. For example, an 8-week project during the Fall or Winter term would cost your department $322.40 and a 20-week project will cost $806 (not including March break). These amounts are calculated as follows:

Other salary expenses (and the remaining salary costs) are covered by the program.

The Work-Study Program will commit $12.50/hour (plus vacation pay and holiday pay) for up to 200 hours, or 220 hours if your student works during the March Break, for the 20-week projects; up to 80 hours for the Fall 8–week projects; and up to 80 hours, or 100 hours if your student works during the March Break for the Winter 8-week projects. If you should happen to exceed that number of hours, your student will be paid for his/her work, but the full wage will be charged to your departmental account for all hours in excess of the approved hours.